Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel (84) is set to complete seven years in office next week, breaking her own record for the longest tenure in the position.
Event Context
After taking oath as the governor of Uttar Pradesh on July 29, 2019, Patel has been in focus for her concerns over various social causes and other issues, including growing cases of violence against women. Her advice to girls to steer clear of live-in relationships and her query over the serving of non-veg food in some medical institutes have caught attention in the recent past.
Patel has the longest tenure in the office of Uttar Pradesh governor in the pre and post-independence period.
She has already broken the record of Sir Maurice Garner Hallett, the only previous governor to complete six years in office. Hallett served as governor during British rule from December 6, 1939 to December 6, 1945 when Uttar Pradesh was called the United Provinces.
Patel is the second woman governor of the state. Sarijini Naidu, the first woman governor of the then United Provinces, was in office from August 15, 1947 to March 2, 1949.
Patel is a retired principal of the Mohinaba Girls’ High
School, Ahmedabad. She became the first woman chief minister of Gujarat from May 22, 2014 to August 7, 2016. She also served as the governor of Madhya Pradesh from January 23, 2018 to July 28, 2019 and governor of Chhattisgarh from August 15, 2018 to July 29, 2019.
As governor, she has set out her own priorities and worked for strengthening Anganwadi Kendras, vaccination against
cervical cancer and eradication of tuberculosis.
Player Focus
As of July 22, 2026, she has distributed 67,643 Anganwadi kits and facilitated 153,997 HPV vaccinations. She has ensured treatment for more than 400,000 tuberculosis patients. It was at her instance that 18 of UP’s state universities received A++ or A+ rankings. Those aware of the development said nine UP universities have A++ NAC rankings while nine others have A+ rankings.
